Ships in the Night
by Mori03
Summary: Just as the world seems to be recovering from the Abyssals they strike back, hard. Now two shipgirls must travel half-way across the globe to find a solution. Little do they know, the clock is ticking and night fast approaches. *temporary cover picture*
1. Chapter 1: A Curious Assignment

Chapter 1: A Curious Assignment

 _May 6, 20XX_

 _Exactly six months ago to this date, they struck back. We thought they were finally declining, losing, but we were wrong. At exactly 0600 hours, ship spirit task forces and naval bases all around the globe were attacked by large forces of Abyssal ships. The lightest casualties, the loss of all cargo and navy ships and half of the ship forces; the worst casualties, one surviving ship girl with a barely functioning engine out of an entire base of 1000 souls._

 _It was madness. Global trade ground to a halt as shipping lanes were overrun with the demonic Abyssals. World leaders scrambled to calm their nations as navies everywhere mourned their fallen and feared their own safety. There was no one who wasn't affected in some way by this. No one was sure of what to do next, except us. We knew what to do, but the question was would it work?_

 _The US Navy, though not quickly, attempted to rebuild our forces. With over half of our conventional forces destroyed, there was no way we could effectively protect trans Pacific and Atlantic routes, so we turned to summoning. It didn't work. In ceremonies where we should've summoned 5-10 girls, we would get one; two if we were lucky. Everything seemed hopeless._

 _Of course this was when my department was created and I was promoted to head of the department. Well, technically "Ship Spirit Consultant" but my job is basically running the Department of Ship Spirit Expansion. We specialize in summoning ship spirits and it's my job to lead that process as the ship girl liaison. Of course you already know this, as this is the only thing I've been writing about for months, but on the anniversary of that day and after that failed summoning yesterday, I felt as though I must write something-_

The shrill ring of the telephone interrupted the rhythmic scratching of pen on paper. Placing her pen down and closing the small notebook in front of her, she picked up the phone.

"Enterprise, speaking."

"Ah, E, Admiral wants to see you in his office, ASAP," a female voice answered on the other line.

"Alright, five minutes."

"Got it. See ya then, E," and the call ended with a click. Enterprise placed the phone down with a yawn and stretched her arms above her head. _I guess my writing will have to wait,_ she thought as she let her arms fall back down.

After grabbing her cap and her half empty cup of coffee, she set off to her admiral's office. As she walked down the hallways, she felt an eerie quiet though the building. It wasn't uncommon for the day after a failed summoning to be quiet like this, but she had a sneaking suspicion that the Admiral had given most ship girls the day off. It was understandable, but Enterprise wouldn't take a day off until she solved this. There was something missing, but what could it be?

Before she noticed it, she had made it to the Admiral's office. She quickly checked over her uniform and fixed her already-perfect dirty blond bun, then gave a quick knock to the wooden door.

It creaked open to reveal a monstrously tall woman with the build of a boxer and her short black hair tucked back under her cap. Even under her baggy NWUs, Enterprise could see her hulking form. Compared to Enterprise, the girl looked about the same age, young 20s, but she was considerably larger, in height and everything else. Her cool gray eyes, complete with dark bags and red veins, stared down at the carrier girl for a few quiet second before breaking into a cheeky grin.

"Damn, E. When you say five minutes, you really mean it," she said with a booming chuckle. Enterprise rolled her eyes.

"Is the Admiral in?"

"Yeesh, so cold to not even respond. He went off to the head but he'll be back in a sec," the secretary said as she stepped aside to let the carrier in. Enterprise strolled in and sat down across from the Admiral's desk. She observed his secretary as she rubbed her eyes and poured a cup of black coffee. She plopped down at her own small desk at the side of the room, overflowing with stacks paperwork so high her name plate was almost obscured. Enterprise could just make out the words _Commander USS New Jersey, USN_ under the shadow of all the paper.

"Didn't sleep well last night, Jersey?" Enterprise spoke as the other woman chugged the steaming cup. She placed the cup down and gave the carrier a sad smile.

"Yeah, Wisky couldn't sleep either, but you know who we failed to summon last night, not that I really thought she'd come back but..." New Jersey trailed off as any trace of a smile vanished from her face. Enterprise suddenly found her feet more interesting than the secretary and began to make detailed mental notes of her boots. What did Jersey expect? A summoning of an already summoned but sunk ship never worked. However, Enterprise couldn't bring herself to be mad at Jersey's remarks; she understood what the battleship was going through.

"Ah, Captain, you're here already," a voice sounded from the doorway. Quickly, Enterprise shot up to give her Admiral a salute, the battleship following suit. The graying man returned the salute before waving the two at ease.

"So, Admiral, what did you want to discuss? I have notes of last night's attempted summoning if-"

"That's not it," he interrupted with his usual calm voice. "I need to discuss transfer orders with you."

Enterprise and the eavesdropping battleship struggled to keep their jaws from falling to the ground.

"S-sir? Am I doing that b-bad at this job?" she stuttered, unable to make sense of these new orders. She knew she had been unable to re-summon girls but she didn't think that counted as a reason for a transfer.

"No, no not at all. These aren't so much orders as they are a 'research mission' of sorts," he explained, "I know you're experiencing troubles with your newest 'project', so I talked with Admiral Ito over in Yokosuka and he's offering you a trip over their to do some research and study their findings on summonings."

She breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't failed her job, but she was being offered an opportunity to study ship summoning over in Japan, the origin of reincarnated ship spirits. Several years ago when the Abyssals first appeared, Japan had revolutionized naval warfare when they had announced the existence of a "ship girl" program. All over the world, people heard of human girls that had be "summoned" with spirits of old warships and scoffed at the idea as a waste of resources, until the girls had begun to defeat Abyssal forces and shipping lanes freed up again. Then other navies scrambled to summon their own girls, following the example of the Japanese. If there was anyone who could help Enterprise solve this problem, they would be in Japan.

"I'm going," she said, "Whenever you want me to be, I'm ready, sir."

"Well, that was quick," Jersey joked with a cocked eyebrow. Enterprise shot a quick glare at the dark haired battleship and turned to the Admiral again.

"As enthusiastic as you may be, you still need to be brief on this mission." A quick nod from the carrier and the Admiral continued. "Because of the nature of this assignment, you will be traveling as a foreign intelligence officer, and so the Department of Ship Spirit Expansion is now jointly overseen by the base here at Pearl and ONI. Don't worry, it's only superficial. You're still my subordinate."

"On this assignment, you'll be allowed to access all declassified and some classified materials on ship spirit summoning as well first hand accounts of summonings," he paused to look for something on his desk.

"Ah, Jersey, do you have- Ah thank you," he said snatching the manilla envelope from his secretary. He handed it to Enterprise and continued, "All the specifics are in here, so please read that tonight. I'll call Yokosuka and let them know you're coming. When would you be ready to go?"

"Tomorrow, sir, if possible."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do. But in the meantime, read over that. Plan on recording lots of info on summonings and if possible, the Abyssals themselves. They've been using new tactics ever since that day that have been extremely effective against us, but the Japanese aren't fairing so badly. Something tells me that those Japanese may have info we don't-"

Both the Admiral and carrier jumped as Jersey slammed her hands on the admiral's desk. Her steely eyes stared at him with a new-found fire.

"I'm going, too," she stated, her voice determined, "If I can't go fight those Abyssal bastards, I want to know how to destroy them. And if Japan knows how to do it better than me, I wanna know. I'm going."

"J-Jersey, are you sure you-"

"Sure as I'll ever be. I can't sortie and help my girls, but I still want to do something. No offense , Admiral, but I'm not really one for desk work."

The Admiral gave a small chuckle and placed his hand on the battleship's shoulder.

"I understand. It must be tough for you to not be able to sortie with the rest of the girls. It must be hard for the both of you," he glanced at Enterprise, "And I know you two still want to help. This is your chance to. I know you'll both find what you're looking for."

The two ships smiled at their Admiral. Moments like these always helped the girls calm down. If she had a father, Enterprise thought he'd be like the admiral.

Jersey practically picked the man up in a large bear hug, shouting "thank you" over and over again. The Admiral laughed and hugged her, patting her back in a fatherly manner. Enterprise raised an eyebrow.

"You play favorites, Sir," she snarked. He laughed as the battleship set him down, a large smile plastered on her tired face.

"What can I say? I'm a Jersey boy, born and raised. I can give you a hug too of you'd like."

"No thanks, sir, but I appreciate the sentiment."

"I could hug you."

The carrier stared at the battleship with her best pokerface. Jersey shrugged and muttered an "I thought I'd offer".

"Anyway, you girls go read the file and pack. Plan on leaving tomorrow, so you both can have the rest of the day off to prepare. When you get the chance, Jersey, send your sister in. She can cover secretary while you're away. Is that alright?"

"You got it, sir. I'll send Wisky over when I get back to my room," the battleship said as she attempted to make her desk somewhat neat.

Enterprise rose from her seat, the enormity of her mission just beginning to sink in. She was traveling half-way across the world and was going to be allowed a look at the most extensive researched and most sophisticated ship summonings in the world. Even though no one had ever achieved it, she might finally crack the case on re-summoning sunken ship girls. Suddenly, the manilla folder in her hands felt like the weight of the entire fleet.

She turned to the disgruntled battleship, still straightening out the papers on her desk. The carrier glanced at the Admiral to find him amused at his secretary's futile attempt. Enterprise sighed.

"Hey, Jersey, you coming?" she asked, slipping mild annoyance into her voice. Jersey turned to her and cocked her head, questioning. "We have to read this, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I guess that's the only copy," she said with a bit of embarrassment as the Admiral stiffed his chuckles by filling out paperwork.

"We're off, sir. I'm assuming you'll tell us when we're leaving by tonight?" the carrier said as she and Jersey snapped to attention. He nodded as he rose and returned the salute.

"Let me know if either of you have questions. I'll see you before you leave, but good luck, girls."

* * *

"So they're pretty much giving you free reign then?" Jersey asked as the manila folder lied open with its contents read and spread over Enterprise's desk.

"That's what it seems like, though I can't imagine they'd let a foreign officer roam around on her own through classified material," the carrier said more to herself than the battleship who'd asked the question. "Maybe they'll assign someone to follow me around. I'm sure they have girls on restricted duty, like us. Although, they may not assign someone to you because most of your work will be with other ships."

"...It feels nice to actually be doing something again," Jersey said as she leaned back in her chair. "Not that I don't like being the secretary, but I miss doing actual 'warship' stuff."

"You're not going to be doing 'warship' stuff. You're going to Japan as an intelligence officer who is going to study their information on the Abyssals and the tactics used against them. You're _not_ going to sortie, you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah I know, no need to lecture me," Jersey grumbled with a small scowl.

"...And because you're being sent on such short notice, you're being assigned as my subordinate," Enterprise said with a grin splayed on her face. Jersey almost fell out of her chair.

"What?! I won't stand for this! Yeah, you're a Captain and I'm a Commander but you're not my commanding officer!"

"We're both in the 3rd Fleet, aren't we? And what do you call a higher ranking officer in your own fleet?" Enterprise smirked. Jersey groaned and slowly rose from her chair.

"Fine, whatever, m-ma'am, oh God help me," she rubbed her eyes, "Anyway, I gotta go talk to Wisky. I'll see you at dinner."

The battleship made her way out and gave a wave behind her.

"That's no way to say goodbye to your superior, sailor," Enterprise shouted.

"Bite me, you damn sadist!" she slammed the door, leaving little cracks in the wall around the frame. Enterprise chuckled as she reclined back in her chair.

"An intelligence trip to Japan with Jersey, huh? Well, this will certainly be interesting," she said aloud as she reached for her journal. She had to add to her daily entry.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello, everyone! I'm Mori and thanks for reading the first chapter of my fic! If you couldn't tell, this story will center around Enterprise and New Jersey, two of my favorite warships ever. I'm not entirely sure where this story will go, but I do know updates will be very infrequent. I'm betting on Christmas break where I can churn out a couple new chapters. In the meantime, I'm always open to constructive criticism and it's been a while since I last wrote seriously, so by all means! Also, if anyone would be interested in beta-ing this that would be great. I already have someone lined up, but it would be nice to have a fresh opinion. Thanks so much for reading! Please bear with me!**


	2. Short 1: Forward For Freedom

Short 1: Forward For Freedom

Jersey made her way back to the battleship dorms. Stepping inside, she found most of its occupants lounging in the common room, currently hosting a video game tournament. Jersey watched the screen for a moment as she attempted to figure out what was happening.

"Oh, Jersey, you're back early. Is something wrong?" a voice asked. Jersey looked down to find Maryland staring up at her with questioning blue eyes. She smiled.

"No nothing's wrong. The Admiral just gave me the day off. I've got a big mission tomorrow so I'm resting up for it," she explained. Maryland looked worried at the mention of a mission but before she could ask, Jersey changed the subject. "What is everyone doing?"

"Well, no one really felt up to practicing today, so they decided to have a 'Smash Brothers' tournament, not that I know what is happening," she said staring at her sister ships and the Pennsylvania-class sisters, shouting and violently jerking their controllers. Jersey chuckled.

"Would you happen to know where I could find my sister?" she asked the smaller battleship.

"I think she is in your room, if I am not mistaken. Ah! If you're headed in that direction, would you mind taking her lunch to her? I know it's almost dinner time but she didn't eat today and I'm a bit worried," Maryland trailed off.

"Of course. Thanks for worrying about her," Jersey said, offering a sincere smile. Maryland frowned.

"You could stand to take better care of yourself as well, Commander. Ever since Iowa got transferred to the Atlantic Fleet, you've done nothing but work," she scolded.

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I'm fine," Jersey said, "Now, where is Wisky's lunch?"

The older battleship handed Jersey a plate with a (rather small for a battleship) sandwich and a glass of water. She nodded her thanks and made her way to her shared room.

"Knock, knock," she said nudging the door open. She found Wisconsin lying in her bed, her gray hair still messy and her pajama still being worn. Wisconsin looked to the door and sat up when she found her sister.

"Hey, sis, what are you doing here?" she asked. Jersey flopped down on the bed and shoved the sandwich in her sister's direction.

"Better question, why are you still in bed? And why my bed still?" Jersey asked as she set the glass down on a night stand. Her younger sister looked down at the sandwich.

"...I didn't really sleep well last night. This room is too big," she mumbled. Jersey looked around at the three other beds that remained empty most of the time. Two neatly made and gaining a layer of dust, the third lightly messed up from when Wisconsin decided she couldn't sleep alone. Jersey's face fell. This was supposed to be the dorm of the Iowa-class sisters, the most powerful class of battleships ever, and yet it felt so cold and dead.

"Yeah, I suppose you have a point, but wouldn't getting out of here make you feel better? Go hang out with everyone?" she asked. "Also, eat that before I get angry."

Wisconsin looked at her skeptically.

"You get mad at me? Yeah sure," she said, picking up the sandwich anyway. She took a bite and her eyes immediately glossed over as she devoured the rest of it. Jersey passed her the glass of water, which was promptly drained.

"Maryland's cooking is good as ever, I see" Jersey said, prompting a blush from Wisconsin.

"She just babies me. Everyone babies me," she pouted. Jersey laughed.

"You're the baby of the battleships, of course everyone's going to treat you like that."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"You better like it by tomorrow cause you'll be rooming with Maryland and her sisters after tonight," Jersey said turning serious again. "I'm heading off to Japan on assignment. I don't know how long I'll be gone and I don't want you staying in this depressing room all by yourself."

"Y-you're leaving? Assignment? Jersey, what?"

"Don't worry I'll be safe. It's an intelligence mission. Classified so that's all I can say, but I won't be sortieing or anything. I'll be safe"

Wisconsin still looked apprehensive. Quickly, she latched onto Jersey, burying her head in her sister's chest.

"Be safe... I can't lose you, too," she mumbled. Jersey held her sister closer.

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere that you can't find me," she mumbled back. The two stayed like that for a few minutes before a large growling sound interrupted. Wisconsin jerked back and stared at her stomach, embarrassed. Jersey laughed.

"Let's head to dinner. Oh, and by the way, you're the secretary ship until I get back," she said standing up. Her sister blinked.

"What."

* * *

 **A/N: This is just a little extra that I cropped out of Chapter 1. Hope you enjoy! So I guess this story will have extras sometimes.**


	3. Short 2: A Merry Little Christmas

Short 2: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

 _December 25, 20XX: Approx. one month after RA-Day_

After a loud knock at her door, she jerked awake. Disoriented for a few seconds, she finally realized she was still in her office. _Must have fallen asleep doing paperwork,_ she thought. A quick glance at a drool-stained supply request form confirmed her hypothesis. Quickly, she stuffed the sheet under a random folder.

"Come in," she said, her voice breaking slightly with leftover sleepiness. The door burst open to reveal Santa Claus. Or, rather, someone dressed as Santa. Someone with short black hair, the build of a boxer, and a very convincing costume, complete with a sack of toys; definitely a battleship doing something weird.

"Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas, little girl!" the faux-Santa said. Enterprise stared back with her signature straight face. The battleship pretended not to notice as she continued, "And what did we ask for this year?"

"... May I ask what you're doing?" the carrier said, unamused. The battleship frowned under her fake beard.

"Come on, play along. It's Christmas!" she said emphatically. Enterprise blinked. It was still the afternoon of Christmas Eve, not Christmas. She tapped the home button of the cell phone on her desk and was proved wrong; it was about a half-hour past midnight, December 25. She must have slept for a while.

"Oh, I was mistaken. Merry Christmas. Now, may I ask who you are?" she said. The girl huffed.

"I'm Santa Claus! Spreading Christmas Cheer!" she shouted. Enterprise's face remained unchanged. The battleship pulled down her fake beard and removed her hat.

"Ah, Commander New Jersey. Merry Christmas to you. Now, what are you doing?" the carrier asked.

Enterprise knew Jersey. They had both served in the Third Fleet way back when as a certain Admiral's flagship. The two had also been close when they were newly summoned because of the close timing of their ceremonies. But when more girls began to arrive on base, including their sisters, the two had grown apart.

Jersey smiled instead of her usual smirk.

"I thought I'd do something nice for, mainly the destroyers, but everyone. I think everyone needs some cheer right about now," her face falling ever so slightly. Enterprise was shocked. One of the most notoriously oblivious "heart-breakers" at Pearl was actually doing something genuinely kind and thoughtful. But, it made sense; everyone had lost someone dear to them, Jersey was no exception, so she must know what everyone else was feeling.

It was no secret that the vast majority of ship girls on base were horribly depressed. With the revenge of the Abyssal or RA-Day, only a month old, still fresh in everyone's mind, nothing was the same. The destroyers weren't energetic, the cruisers hardly left their dorms, the carriers were in pure shock, and the battleships were working over time to distract themselves. The ship girl base at Pearl Harbor had been drained of all spirit and morale in one day.

"That's very kind of you, Commander," the carrier said with a smile. The battleship scratched the back of her neck.

"It's literally the least I could do... Oh, yeah! Let's see what I've got for you in here!" she said as she swung the large sack in front of her. She practically climbed into the bag to search for a gift. _How big is that bag?_ Enterprise thought as she watched the other girl squirm around.

"Aha! Found it!" the battleship shouted from inside the sack. As she resurfaced, she pulled out a medium sized box with her. Wrapped in silver wrapping paper and tied with gold and blue ribbon, it was so beautifully decorated that Enterprise was once again surprised at the battleship's skill.

"I had North Carolina help me with the wrapping cause she's sort of an expert on making things pretty. Anyways, open it!" she said as she placed the box onto the carrier's desk. Enterprise took a tentative glance at the package. "It's not gonna blow up! That was one time and it was outside and it was the destroyers' idea!"

Enterprise chucked as she reached for the present. She carefully slipped the ribbon off before peeling away the wrapping. Inside of a plain cardboard box, there was a ceramic model of a Douglas SDB diver bomber, painted Navy colors with the tail number marking it as belonging to her air wing. As she picked it up to inspect it, she noticed the top seemed loose. Carefully, she moved the top piece to find it did in fact open to reveal the ceramic to be hollow. At the very bottom was painted in Navy block letters "CV-6". She was speechless.

"It's a dive bomber cookie jar! I had some help from some of the tech guys making the thing but I painted it myself. You like it?" she asked in a voice more fitting of a child than an Iowa-class battleship. Enterprise was still staring at the ceramic model with her mouth slightly parted.

"..I-it's wonderful. You even got the dive brakes. Thank you so much, Commander. This is one of the nicest gifts I've ever been given," she said with a smile, the first one she had given in many weeks. Jersey's cheeks took on a slight pink hue.

"...I'm glad you like it, but enough with this 'Commander' stuff. Call me Jersey or J. No need to be so formal," she said with a wave of her hand. The carrier blinked as the ghost of a smirk flitted across her face.

"Well then, thank you, Jersey. I'll greatly treasure this," she said, "But I must ask, why the sudden request to speak casually?"

"After the New Year, I'll be the Admiral's secretary and you'll be heading one of the biggest departments on base so I've a feeling we'll be seein' a lot of each other soon enough. Besides, we've known each other long enough," she explained as she swung the bag over her shoulder once again. Enterprise raised an eyebrow.

"So... you're saying you want to be friends?" she asked. Jersey violently started coughing as her face turned beet red. Enterprise laughed, "You're easily flustered for a big tough battleship."

"Hey! It's just cause you said it so suddenly, but yeah, I guess that is what I'm sayin'," she sputtered as she scratched at her cheek and looked anywhere but the smug carrier in front of her.

"Well then," Enterprise said as she abruptly stood. She extended her hand forward, "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Jersey."

"... You're acting real strange," the battleship said, taking the other girl's hand anyway.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, sort of sadistic."

"That's not very nice to say to someone whom you're trying to befriend," Enterprise said with a growing smirk. She was actually pleased with herself for being able to reduce one of the most cool-headed, go-with-the-flow battleships on base to a blushing mess. Maybe Jersey did have a point about her being sadistic.

"Shut up. Well, if that's all done with, I'm off to the carrier-battleship Christmas party. Wanna join me? Langley's mixing the drinks," Jersey asked.

"I have some paperwork to finish up-"

"Nope it's Christmas. No paperwork. Just come for a little bit, at least," she bartered, "It's also Iowa's going away party, too, and I know you wanna say goodbye to her."

Enterprise was silent as it was her turn to blush furiously and the other broke into a huge grin. The carrier glared as her companion burst into laughter.

"The rumors are true! You got a thing for big sis," she choked out between her laughter. Enterprise glared.

"I do not! Iowa is a very respectable woman and warship. I just happen to appreciate her equipment. What's wrong with that? And who is spreading baseless rumors?" she spoke quickly, desperately trying to hold onto any sense of professionalism. Jersey just kept on laughing.

"Oh, God... Well, here's to a... strange new friendship, huh?" she said, finally calming down and offering a playful smirk. So like her, the carrier thought briefly.

"Here, here," the carrier said, finally breaking her scowl in favor of a small grin. Jersey nodded and turned towards the door.

"I'll wait for you to clean up and we'll head to the party, k?" she said. Before Enterprise could answer, the battleship had already left the room, slamming the door behind her.

The carrier fell back into her chair. _What just happened?_ she thought. The whole exchange with the battleship felt as though a tornado had come into her office, destroyed the place, and left as soon as it had come. Battleships were known for being eccentric, but Jersey was something else; she was good at getting under Enterprise's skin and Enterprise could do the same just as easily. The carrier thought to herself it would be an interesting couple of months to come.

As she absentmindedly played with the ring on her right ring finger, she thought, _Oh, I've got to thank Jersey later. She made me forget for a while_...

* * *

 **A/N: A holiday short that actually turned out pretty long cause it has ~plot elements~ and that fun stuff. So, here's how E and Jersey became friends. Jersey's sort of a go-with-the-flow, flirty type and E is the calm and collected leader who enjoys teasing people, so I think they complement each other nicely, if not a bit strangely (hopefully I conveyed that well enough here. I'm still pretty new to writing). So, once again, thanks for reading! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**

 **PS: The cookie jar idea actually came from my mother, who had a cookie jar shaped and painted to look like a DC3. I broke it when I was a kid but that's besides the point.**


End file.
